“I waited the right moment to launch my decisive attack during the last lap,” Bekele said. “Winning in Castelbuono represents the highlight in the career of each athlete and I am honoured to win this race in the 100th anniversary. It’s a hard race with a lot of ups and down.”

Bekele will now take on half-marathon training.

Surprisingly, Longosiwa took second despite a fall early in the race.

“I don’t know what happened at the start,” he recalled. “I was pushed from behind and I fell. I was shocked and I felt a headache. I lost my focus. I am not used to running in the middle of the group. It was not easy to catch up positions on a very narrow course.”

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about